A CompactFlash-to-IDE adapter would be ideal for a 486.

I use one with my 486 along with a 512MB CF card.

Thanks. Yeah, I was thinking about CF-IDE adapter. Would any CF-IDE adapter work, or are there something I should look out for?

You can also consider an SD card to IDE adapter. Their prices have come down and SD cards are more readily available than Compact Flash cards

Runar77 wrote on 2023-05-27, 17:20:

Thanks. Yeah, I was thinking about CF-IDE adapter. Would any CF-IDE adapter work, or are there something I should look out for?

I use the Syba IDE-to-CF adapters (with the rear bracket mount): https://www.sybausa.com/index.php?route=produ … &product_id=611

I get them through Amazon and have used them with a variety of systems without issues.

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-05-27, 17:27:

I use the Syba IDE-to-CF adapters (with the rear bracket mount):

So this should work?

https://www.amazon.com/Syba-Connects-3-5-Inch … 169&sr=8-1&th=1

What kind of CF-card do you recommend? I know 2GB is the maximum size for FAT16. But bigger, more modern cards have better speed. And having more partitions are nice.

Runar77 wrote on 2023-05-27, 17:57:

So this should work? […]
Show full quote

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-05-27, 17:27:

I use the Syba IDE-to-CF adapters (with the rear bracket mount):

So this should work?

https://www.amazon.com/Syba-Connects-3-5-Inch … 169&sr=8-1&th=1

What kind of CF-card do you recommend? I know 2GB is the maximum size for FAT16. But bigger, more modern cards have better speed. And having more partitions are nice.

Yup, that adapter would work.

For CF cards I tend to use a few different brands. I favor either industrial-branded cards (e.g. Cisco), standard Sandisk cards or Verbatim, the latter of which are available in 2GB and 4GB from Amazon. Attached is a picture of a handful of cards I'm currently actively using in various builds. The 512MB card specifically I purchased from Ebay as a new-old-stock item.

Now in terms of size, on a 486 system (and earlier) you might into BIOS limits with respect to the size of the HD it will detect. This is why I use a 512 MB card in my 486 system, since the BIOS on my system only supports up to 504MB in drive size.

There are ways around this limitation via Dynamic Drive Overlay (DDO) software, but I haven't bothered with that personally. I find 500MB is perfectly usable on a 486-era machine.

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-05-27, 18:17:

Now in terms of size, on a 486 system (and earlier) you might into BIOS limits with respect to the size of the HD it will detect. This is why I use a 512 MB card in my 486 system, since the BIOS on my system only supports up to 504MB in drive size.

There are ways around this limitation via Dynamic Drive Overlay (DDO) software, but I haven't bothered with that personally. I find 500MB is perfectly usable on a 486-era machine.

It seems to be hard to find a genuine card from a well-known brand (a lot of them looks like Sandisk, without the Sandisk-name printed on them) at 512MB that can be shipped to my country. And those I find are the slowest cards. If I go up to a bigger size, I can find faster cards.

So if I buy, say a 2GB card, and insert it into a system with a BIOS with a size-limit, will it still detect the first 504 MB of the card? I remember buying an 800MB HDD back in the days, and the BIOS only detected it as 504MB. But those 504MB's still worked perfectly.

I decided to order the Syba adaptor along with the same 2 GB Verbatim CF card that you have. I did also order a 512 MB Sandisk Ultra card from Ebay, just in case. The latter is probably also faster than the Verbatim card, so I can check if that will have an impact on the read/write speed.

If i remember, I can update this thread when I have tried it out, but it could take some time. Standard shipping from the US and China to Norway takes time.

Anyway, thanks for helping me out.

Runar77 wrote on 2023-05-28, 06:51:

I decided to order the Syba adaptor along with the same 2 GB Verbatim CF card that you have. I did also order a 512 MB Sandisk Ultra card from Ebay, just in case. The latter is probably also faster than the Verbatim card, so I can check if that will have an impact on the read/write speed.

If i remember, I can update this thread when I have tried it out, but it could take some time. Standard shipping from the US and China to Norway takes time.

Anyway, thanks for helping me out.

You made the right call, CF to IDE is the way to go. Almost all of my PC’s use them, except oddly enough my 486 because it’s a SCSI system 🤣. About the bios limitation, check what your bios can see before trying to format the drive. I have been through massive headaches dealing with data corruption because I made a 2GB partition on a 4GB card. My advice is keep the card under what the bios wants, it just makes everything so much easier. The speed difference will be completely irrelevant on a 486 system. And stick to DOS 6.22 with the bigger cards.

The reason the old drives are so loud btw is just because the bearings are so old. Those plates spin really fast and the poor old dried out bearings are doing the best they can. Wish there was a way to lube them.

Runar77 wrote on 2023-05-27, 18:52:

So if I buy, say a 2GB card, and insert it into a system with a BIOS with a size-limit, will it still detect the first 504 MB of the card? I remember buying an 800MB HDD back in the days, and the BIOS only detected it as 504MB. But those 504MB's still worked perfectly.

I haven't tried it with a 2GB (or larger) card, but in theory it should work. The 512MB card I use higher than the 504MB bios limit, and it works. So in principle it will just use up to the BIOS limit.

Runar77 wrote on 2023-05-28, 06:51:

I decided to order the Syba adaptor along with the same 2 GB Verbatim CF card that you have. I did also order a 512 MB Sandisk Ultra card from Ebay, just in case. The latter is probably also faster than the Verbatim card, so I can check if that will have an impact on the read/write speed.

From what I've researched, the biggest bottleneck will probably be your controller card. I'm currently using an ISA controller card in my 486. I've been meaning one of these days to swap it for a VLB card and see how much it impacts drive speeds.

Anyway, thanks for helping me out.

You're welcome! Best of luck with the CF upgrade. 😀

Runar77 wrote on 2023-05-27, 16:21:

The thing is, I do remember HDD's being noisy back then, but this noisy? It makes my head hurt in a couple of minutes.
Maybe there is something wrong with it, although it does seem to work fine.

If it's merely the noise.. There are noise-dampers made of rubber.
They keep the HDD's vibrations away from the chassis.
I had used them, when I used to be in a phase when I was very, very sensitive to noise.
Just look for "HDD dampers" or "HDD silencers" etc.

FinalJenemba wrote on 2023-05-28, 07:56:

My advice is keep the card under what the bios wants, it just makes everything so much easier. The speed difference will be completely irrelevant on a 486 system. And stick to DOS 6.22 with the bigger cards.

The reason the old drives are so loud btw is just because the bearings are so old. Those plates spin really fast and the poor old dried out bearings are doing the best they can. Wish there was a way to lube them.

I guess I will make two partitions at 250MB each, to keep it under the 504MB limit.
Yeah, I guess age has something to do with the noise. The HDD itself seems to be in good condition according to checkdisk and scandisk, but if the bearings dry out even more, it might stop working alltogether. So the CF-IDE solution is the right way to go.

Jo22 wrote on 2023-05-28, 15:17:

If it's merely the noise.. There are noise-dampers made of rubber.
They keep the HDD's vibrations away from the chassis.

Thanks for the tip, but I don't think it's (only) the vibrations. It seems to come from the HDD drive itself, and it's some sort of grinding noise. It might make things better, but hopefully the CF-IDE solution will work perfectly... then it will be completely silent.

There will still be some sound from the fan in the power-supply, but that's not nearly as irritating.